


The Silent Princess

by sherlexa



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Feels, Getting Together, M/M, Platonic Soulmates, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, So much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 03:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14011185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlexa/pseuds/sherlexa
Summary: This story takes place before the war. Everyone is alive, everyone is happy, but it's never that easy, is it?In which Zelda lays her insecurities to rest, Link finds his voice again and Sheik finds himself belonging despite believing that he never would.





	The Silent Princess

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first fanfiction for the Zelda fandom! 
> 
> I'm super excited to finally post this. I've been working on this story for a while now and I'm fairly certain that it's going to be a long one. I hope you'll enjoy reading it! And please let me know what you think of it, thank you!
> 
> (This story switches between the POVs of Link and Zelda.)

_Zelda_

 

She watched him train in the pouring rain, drenched in the cold water falling from the sky, but he didn't show any sign of weakness. He fought on heroically, against nothing but air, and yet so much more than that. There wasn't an enemy in sight but his eyes were hard, his face set into an unrelenting glare, and Zelda was sure she'd never want to be at the receiving end of it.

 

There was a heaviness in her heart as she watched Link. He seemed to fit so well into the role that was put on him while she herself didn't seem to have an ounce of the Goddess inside of her that her former self used to be. She was nothing but an empty shell that didn't hold anything special inside, only a useless human being that couldn't win a war and would bring demise on everyone if she didn't find her hidden powers soon.

 

A part of her hated Link for that. The princess was aware that it wasn't his choice, that he was chosen by fate just as she was and that neither of them could do anything about it, but the irony of this whole situation made her resent him so deeply that she was shocked at the capacity of hate she could feel for a person that didn't deserve it. Zelda knew that his life wasn't easy, that he had lost his mother when he was only a little child and that his father had passed away when he had turned sixteen, only two years ago. It wasn't that she was ignorant – she was well aware that his heart might be in pieces because of the losses he had endured and because of the burden of the whole world's fate resting on their shoulders, but some cruel part of her couldn't care less. Not when she didn't even know him yet, not when he was only her companion because her father was the King and a King's word couldn't be disobeyed. Not when they only shared a fate because it was the choice of the goddess Hylia that somehow used to be her but couldn't feel more like a stranger.

 

She swallowed hard and looked away.

 

“I doubt this will let up anytime soon,” Zelda muttered to no one in particular, looking up at the continuous pouring rain while she sat under a rock that shielded her from it.

 

Somehow she couldn't help but lay her green eyes on her appointed knight again. The pain in her heart made her careless, reckless, not caring about Link's reaction because she simply needed to let her emotions breathe and talking to a person who couldn't answer seemed appropriate, even though Zelda was aware that perhaps thinking so wasn't a nice thing to do. She just needed to be selfish for once, as selfish as she dared herself to be in this moment.

 

“Your path seems to mirror your father's. You've dedicated yourself to becoming a knight, as well.”

 

Zelda envied him for having had a choice in all of this. He hadn't have to become a fighter, he hadn't been a part of Hyrule's fate until he had chosen to step into his father's footsteps, while the princess never had had that choice. She'd always been destined to become the defeater of all evil and its root, the Calamity Ganon. Oh, what she would give to have a different life, to be free to choose who she wanted to be instead of being reminded of her own failures every single day of her life.

 

She chose her next words more carefully, not yet ready to lay out all her cards and reveal the hidden depths of her heart.

 

“Your commitment to the training necessary to fulfill your goal is really quite admirable.”

 

In a moment of surprise, Link ceased his training and turned his head slightly to look at her, and the raw emotions on his face – shock, gratitude and such a warmth that it made her want to reach out to warm her desperate and broken heart as much as possible – made her drop all her guards, letting him in for the first time.

 

“I see now why you would be the chosen one.”

 

The shock was still very much evident in his expression, but the warmth in his eyes seemed to intensify and Zelda had to look away, not used to so much gratitude for such simple and obvious words. It seemed like he had never been told these things and the princess' heart ached for him in a different way than it ached for herself; more deeply, selfless and purely, and for the first time since her father had ordered Link to be her appointed knight, she wondered if they could be friends after all, despite it all.

 

A sharp sting in her eyes brought her back to the present; she noticed that there were tears in her eyes, hot and ready to spill out at the corners, but Zelda had grown used to hiding any negative emotion that she felt so she squinted her eyes together to prevent them from falling, turning her head away so Link wouldn't see.

 

“What if...,” she started and paused for a few seconds, unsure how to voice her thoughts. “One day...,” out of the corner of her eyes she saw Link turn around to face her, lowering the master sword to let her know that she had his full attention, “...you realized that you just weren't meant to be a fighter. Yet the only thing people ever said was that you were born into a family of the royal guard, and so no matter what you thought, you had to become a knight.”

 

She knew that her next words would reveal much about herself, more than she had ever revealed to anyone but Urbosa, and a part of her wondered if she was really ready to let another person in when she knew that the probability of a war was rather high these days, but she decided that she didn't want to protect her heart anymore. It was a futile effort and Link deserved so much more than Zelda holding him at arm's length for no reason other than her own failures. He deserved to have a friend in his life who trusted him and whom he could trust, lonely as he was as her appointed knight, and it was this moment that the princess decided to be said friend.

 

“If that was the only thing that you were ever told... I wonder, then... would you have chosen a different path?”

 

His eyes were so gentle as he looked at her, seemingly understanding her more deeply than she had expected, and the silence wasn't broken again after her last words. The pouring rain was the only sound, strangely soothing now that she had laid her heart bare, and Zelda wasn't even surprised when Link sat down next to her, draining the cold rock in even colder water and shivering slightly. As expected, he didn't say anything, instead he simply joined Zelda in staring ahead at nothing in particular while letting the sound of the storm wash over them and waiting for the rain to subside so they could move on to the castle, silently giving her comfort in a way that she hadn't thought possible before.

 

It wasn't much but in this profound moment, Zelda realized that perhaps she didn't have to face her fate and her seemingly endless failures alone after all.

 

 

 ----------------

 

 

_Zelda_

 

They traveled back to the castle on foot once the storm had slowed down to a gentle drizzle. There wasn't much to say after Zelda's monologue so she remained silent, but her mind was anything but. She wondered if Link actually _was_ heartbroken and if she should ask him about it because she sure knew that no one else would. No one cared enough about the people behind the prophecy – they only cared about the role one had to play, completely disregarding that they were still people like everyone else.

 

Which is why her people always gave the princess a hard time for not accomplishing all the things that were essential to surviving this oncoming war. They didn't seem capable of realizing that they weren't the only ones terrified because of that – Zelda was, as well, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was doing all she could and somehow, it still wasn't enough.

 

But there was no use in arguing with people who had already made up their minds about something. It was like talking to a brick wall, all solid, perfectly constructed and unyielding.

 

Zelda slowed her steps and came to a halt when they reached an isolated tree in a field of nothing but grass. She could see the castle in the distance so she knew that they weren't far from home, probably only three days of travel away, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk to Link about how he was doing. If not now, then when? She couldn't bear the thought of him suffering alone in his own head, silent to no one but himself because he had long ago chosen to hide himself and his voice from the world.

 

“Come on, let's rest here a little,” she said to Link who simply nodded at her request, following her to the tree's roots that were visible over the earth and made for a good resting spot.

 

For a while, they enjoyed the warmth of the sun shining upon them in complete silence. Zelda leaned back on her hands and shut her eyes, basking in the burning sensation on her pale skin and the bright orange colours behind her closed lids. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips and for a brief moment she allowed it to lighten her face a little, a stark contrast to the serious expression she usually wore.

 

She heard Link shift next to her which made her open her eyes to see him laying back onto the grass next to the tree's roots, folding his arms behind his head and looking up at the cloudless sky. He looked so careless and happy that Zelda couldn't help but smile again, though she felt a slight pang in her heart. Everyone should be able to feel like this, the princess was sure of that, and yet her and the Champions had the whole weight of the world resting on their fragile shoulders. They weren't allowed fulfilling happiness because they had to do what was right for everyone else – that didn't leave much time for self-indulgent behaviour.

 

“Link,” she began, making him look up at her with a curious glance as she joined him on the grass, settling next to him in a sitting position. “Can I ask you something?”

 

There was no hesitance as Link nodded slightly, so trustworthy in a way Zelda wasn't sure she even deserved to be at the receiving end of yet, but she didn't comment on it. She simply regarded him for a few more seconds before looking away, giving him some privacy to hide his reaction to her question in case he wanted to do that.

 

“How are you dealing with... your father's death?”

 

The silence stretched out between them. Zelda wasn't sure if she should look at him, afraid that there might be more emotions to see than she was ready to comfort, but a spur of courage made her turn around anyway. Link had sat up next to her, his eyes glinting with that same warmth as they had yesterday, and the princess came to understand that that was his way of showing gratitude. For sharing and, this time, for caring.

 

That wasn't the only thing she saw in his eyes, however. There was another kind of emotion, one that Zelda recognized to be deep grief for the people that he had loved and lost, for the people that had raised him to be who he was now.

 

Zelda couldn't imagine not living with her father. She had never known her mother but she didn't miss her either. Sometimes she felt like that made her heartless but she simply couldn't care for someone that she had never met. It wasn't in her to be that loving, to feel so deeply for someone that she would have known if life hadn't been so cruel to take the princess' mother away from her right after her birth.

 

Her father, however, was a person that she deeply admired, despite all their disputes. A part of her would always want him in her life, no matter how old she grew and how deeply she despised him at times. She knew that the moment she'd lose him would damage her deeply, perhaps even beyond repair.

 

“I'm sorry for your loss,” Zelda whispered, afraid that a simple conversing tone wouldn't convey the sympathy that she felt for her appointed knight.

 

“If you ever find yourself needing someone to lean on, or someone who is ready to listen to you and comfort you, I'm right here, Link.”

 

He blinked at her before adverting his eyes to look out at the vast field that surrounded them. For a moment she feared that he wouldn't answer, that he didn't care about her offer and that he didn't want to accept it, but he nodded ever so slightly, so subtle that she almost missed it.

 

_Almost._

 

 

\----------------

 

 

  _Zelda_

 

During their travels, they had never talked much. It was different now that they were growing closer together. Now Zelda often found herself humming a lullaby that her father had taught her when she was but a little child, and she caught Link smiling at that more times than she could count. Other times, Link would point out particularly beautiful clouds grazing the sky or the morning colours making their surroundings look like a painting. He was like a child, fascinated by the smallest of things that Zelda's heart had already grown cold to, but the knight seemed to change that ever so slowly by being so enthusiastic over everything that the princess simply couldn't help but be affected by it. She found herself starting to do that as well after two more days of travel, and Link always smiled at her so brightly that she couldn't help but return it.

 

But the lightness of the past few days wasn't meant to last. Otherwise they wouldn't be the chosen ones carrying the prophecy on their shoulders.

 

 

 ----------------

 

 

_Link_

 

Being back in the castle was different than it used to be weeks ago. Back then he had still felt like he was a foreigner in this strange world of royals, just barely fitting in because his father had been in the royal guard and because Link had followed in his footsteps after he had died, but his new bond with the princess changed that. It gave his purpose a deeper meaning and he felt like this might be where he belonged after all – he felt home in a place he never thought he would.

 

Zelda had left him a few hours ago at the gate to change her apparel, because as her father always used to say and as Zelda had quoted a few days ago: “A princess can't let herself be seen by her people in such common wear.” While the king had said those words with an authoritative tone to his voice and with utter conviction, Zelda had rolled her eyes when she had quoted it to her appointed knight, making him chuckle softly.

 

He didn't know what else to do with his time so he opted to wait for the princess on the bridge in front of her chambers, overlooking the Sheikah that were busy operating and testing out the Guardians.

 

For whatever reason, he felt weary of those strange creatures that had been built thousands of years ago. Perhaps it was simply because he didn't understand them and because he was scared of everything they seemed capable of, but maybe there was something more to it.

 

He was shaken out of his thoughts when Zelda announced her presence by softly clearing her throat right next to him. A smile settled on his lips as he turned around, noticing that she was dressed in her royal robes again, and the princess returned his smile. It was easy to be like this with her. Despite everything that Link had begun to believe, Zelda was an easy-going person that never grew tired of talking about nothing and everything at the same time. At first, it was hard to catch on because months of silence had suddenly been replaced by a very talkative princess that seemed all too willing to trust him now, but Link didn't mind that at all. He loved listening to her because she possessed a bright mind that was full of ideas that Link never grew tired of hearing.

 

A sudden feeling of being watched made him scan the field with flitting eyes, from one Sheikah to the other. He was vaguely aware that Zelda had begun talking to him but he couldn't focus on her words at that moment. His mind was too occupied with finding the prying eyes that wouldn't let him out of their sight.

 

And after a few more moments, he found them.

 

Curious red eyes were watching him from across the field. Link returned the Sheikah’s gaze, extremely irritated because he often found himself at the receiving end of unwanted glances such as this one – the people’s curiosity was usually sparked by the fact that he was the princess’ appointed knight and a Champion, which somehow opted them to stare at him like he was some fascinating object that could be bought or sold – but the Sheikah only continued staring, unfazed by Link’s open dislike. He seemed to be of Link's age, though guessing his exact age was hard because of the cowl that covered half of his face. The Sheikah tilted his head slowly, challenging, as if daring him not to look away, and Link would lie if he said that he wasn’t at least tempted to indulge in this… game. But the princess’ words demanded his attention, so he turned his back to the Sheikah. He could still feel his eyes boring into the back of his head and it made him uncomfortable, restless, but he pushed those feelings aside and tried to focus on what Zelda was saying.

 

“And should Ganon ever show itself again, we'll be well positioned to defend ourselves.”

 

Link didn't even have time to respond to that when another presence made itself known.

 

“What are you doing out here, Zelda?” The king sounded displeased with his daughter, which was nothing unusual these days, and while Link could feel every muscle in his body twitch with the urge to defend the princess, he knew he was only a knight that needed to show the king the respect he demanded. He sank down on one knee and one foot, his sword arm leaning on the knee that was touching the ground, while he simultaneously bowed his head deeply. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Zelda clench her hands defiantly, but she chose her words carefully to mask that.

 

“I was assessing the results of the experiment with the Guardians. These pieces of ancient technology could be quite useful against the-“

 

The king cut her off impatiently, rudely: “I know that. They are essential to Hyrule's future and our research demands that we keep a close eye on them. However, as the princess, you currently have a crucial unfulfilled responsibility to your kingdom.”

 

He sounded angry and frustrated but that as well wasn't unusual. Link only knew that man as the person who continued to continuously remind Zelda of all her failures – as if the princess didn't already do that enough herself.

 

Despite the heated argument Zelda and her father were engaged in at the moment, it was these moments that Link understood that Zelda was so much more than just a princess with a prophecy to fulfill because she didn’t allow the king’s words to crush her spirit further than she herself already had and still continued to do. She still sounded as excited and passionate when talking about these creatures as she had the first time Link had heard her talk about them. The knight realized that perhaps she herself was the only poison to her mind that she wasn’t willing to defeat, instead seeming all too willing to surrender to it.

 

For a moment, he thought that he would never understand that – the way she allowed herself to be crushed by her failures while still trying to hold on to the tiniest bit of hope, as futile as it seemed – but that wasn’t true. He had learned to know her deeply these past few days. She had showed him sides to herself that he had only been able to guess at a week ago; now he understood her more profoundly than he ever thought possible, and he also understood that the Guardians, her research and everything else that she was so passionate about was her way of getting rid of the feeling of being useless. This was something that she could do, that she was good at, whereas the Goddesses continuously let her down in the search for the hidden powers that she had yet to access.

 

There was a heavy silence and Link didn't need to see the princess' expression to know that her father's words hurt her deeply. The knight hoped that he would stop, that this was enough for today and that he would leave them alone because Zelda didn't deserve to hear these words over and over again, but the king wasn't done yet: “Let me ask you once more: When will you stop treating this as some sort of childish game?”

 

“I'm doing everything I can,” her words sounded as frustrated as the king's but they lacked the deep anger that underlined every of her father's words. Instead, they almost seemed... empty. Like her father had sucked all the joy that she had shared with Link only moments ago out of her, leaving her with nothing but frustration and fear and a deep-seated feeling of uselessness.

 

“I'll have you know that I just recently returned from the Spring of Courage where I offered every ounce of my prayers to the Goddess-”

 

“And now you are here wasting your time,” the king cut her off again, seemingly getting angrier with each passing second. “You need to be dedicating every moment you have to your training. You must be single-minded in unlocking the power that will seal Calamity Ganon away.”

 

“I already am,” Zelda exclaimed in a desperate voice, as though she couldn't quite believe that her father would hold this against her. And frankly, Link couldn't either. “Don't you see – there's nothing more I can do!”

 

The next few moments were filled with silence again and Link could tell that Zelda was trying to regain her composure. Her next words were quieter and softer, but they didn't stand a chance against her father's rage: “My hope is... My hope is that you-... That you'll allow me to contribute here in whatever way I can.”

 

“No more excuses, Zelda! Stop running away from your duty. As the king, I forbid you to have anything to do with these machines from this moment on and command you to focus on your training.”

 

The words seemed final and Link knew that Zelda didn't stand a chance against them. She would never be able to make her father see her point of view, no matter how hard she tried. His heart ached for her in a way he couldn't quite describe, but he wanted to comfort her so she knew that she wasn't alone. She was never alone, not now that they had begun to care for each other. For a second, he was tempted to get up and defy the king alongside Zelda but he didn't want to make matters worse by making the king even angrier, so he stayed put and simply hoped for this to be over soon.

 

“Do you know how the gossip mongers refer to you? They are out there at this moment whispering amongst themselves... that you are the heir to a throne of nothing... nothing but failure.

 

“It is woven into your destiny that you prove them wrong. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes. I understand,” Zelda replied, her voice so small that Link feared that this time, her father's words had truly gotten through to her seemingly unrelenting spirit. He prayed to the Goddess that he was wrong about that, clenching his hand on his knee into a tight fist to stop himself from jumping up and giving the king a taste of his own words.

 

He waited for the king to disappear back into the castle before standing up and positioning himself right in front of Zelda but the princess kept her gaze fixated on the ground, seemingly not even noticing him. Link reached out to touch her arm softly which made her flinch, efficiently breaking her free from her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. She looked up to meet his eyes and Link was saddened to see tears ready to spill. He knew that she'd give him a hard time for letting her cry out here in the open later if Link didn't prevent it, simply because she didn't deal well with humiliation and she always opted to let Link feel it instead – which might not even be the case anymore because she had resented him then and now she no longer did, but either way, Link understood it and never minded to bear the princess' pain as long as he knew that it helped her suffer a little less. But this time he reached for her hand to tuck her along gently, accompanying her back to her chambers and closing the door behind them quietly. He motioned to the bed, hoping that she would understand that he was trying to tell her that rest would perhaps clear the demons from her head, and the broken smile that his efforts were met with made him think that she did. If he didn't know that Zelda hated crying in front of others, he perhaps would have offered to stay, but Zelda took the covers from his hands that he had been offering her and he took that as his cue to leave, but not before he gave her shoulders another gentle and reassuring squeeze.

 

 

\----------------

 

 

_Link_

 

He didn't dare to go far away in case Zelda needed him, so he made his way down to join the Sheikah that were currently training the Guardians. His eyes scanned his surroundings for the Sheikah with the strangely crimson eyes – which was a usual trait for Sheikah, Link was aware of that, but something about those eyes were different in a way he wasn't sure he could even explain to himself – that had been watching him a few moments ago, but said Sheikah seemed to be gone.

 

At least Link thought so until he heard someone clear their throat next to him, making him flinch and reminding him of the carefree moment he had shared with Zelda only minutes ago before her father had shown up.

 

The Sheikah had somehow silently positioned himself next to Link without the latter noticing.

 

Again, the Sheikah only looked at him with curious eyes and Link couldn’t decide if he was mad at that or intrigued by it. The fact that he didn’t simply leave but instead stayed to find out if the Sheikah had something to say indicated the latter.

 

Another seemingly endless moment of silence passed in which Link found himself watched and studied by crimson eyes - as though he were looking for something - so intensely that it made him uncomfortable, switching his balance from one foot to the other, until Link watched the Sheikah extend his hand in an offer of a handshake. “Sheik,” he said in a deep voice, the slight crinkling of the corners of his eyes indicating that he was smiling behind his cowl.

 

Link reached for his hand and shook it, hoping that Sheik already knew that the knight never talked because he didn’t feel like having an awkward encounter right now. Not when the king’s lingering presence still had him feeling all tense and nervous despite his usually calm demeanour.

 

But Sheik didn’t seem to expect an introduction in return. He broke their eye contact and looked at his people that were working with the Guardians, pushing buttons on their Sheikah slates and taking notes of their research every now and then. One of them looked over at him and Sheik, her eyes flitting between them with a question mark visible in her facial expression, but she turned away again when Sheik slightly shook his head at her. What was that about?

 

“She’s wondering if you truly are as unapproachable as you seem to be as the princess’ appointed knight,” Sheik answered his unspoken question. “I kindly let her know that that’s not the case.”

 

Before Link could ask him what he meant by that, the other Sheikah approached. She was slightly smaller than Sheik but her hair was of the same golden colour which made Link think that they were perhaps siblings. Her face was also covered by a cowl but her red eyes radiated such a warmth that Link didn’t need to see a smile on her lips to know that it was there.

 

“The name’s Rin,” she introduced herself cheerfully but without the offer of a handshake. Which made sense because upon looking closer, Link noticed that her hands were covered in dirt.

 

“I’ll leave you to it,” Sheik muttered before going back to his post to continue working on the Guardians.

 

Link watched him retreat, confused and disappointed that their conversation had come to such an abrupt end. The Sheikah seemed more interesting than any other person Link had met on the castle grounds, and they had barely spent five minutes together.

 

“He’s always like that,” Rin said next to him, following his gaze. “He prefers to keep to himself. I’m surprised that he even offered to do this but, well, my brother is full of surprises.”

 

Upon Link’s confused expression she released a soft chuckle. “I wanted to talk to you because I have a favour to ask of you and the princess. I simply spoke about introducing myself to you when Sheik offered to do that himself. He told me that he only wanted to find out if you were approachable to make sure you wouldn’t embarrass me in front of my people if you chose to decline my request but I’m fairly certain that he was simply interested in getting to know you.”

 

Wait, what? Sheik had said that it had been his sister who had wanted to know that.

 

“Anyway, back to what I actually came here to say. We found Guardian parts near the edge of Gerudo Desert but our folk isn’t allowed to travel there so we can’t continue our research without the permission of the king or the princess. And as we all know, our research regarding the Guardians could be essential in our fight against Calamity Ganon.”

 

Link knew about the Sheikah ban in Gerudo Desert but no one had ever told him why they had been banned in the first place. He had asked a couple of times when he had been younger but everyone had always seemed uncomfortable talking about it so he had dropped it eventually.

 

“Will you ask her to meet us, please? We'll be here the whole day so you'll know where to find us.” Rin didn't even wait for an answer before turning around quickly, her long braided hair flipping from one side to the other. He watched her rejoin her brother, talking excitedly to him in a hushed voice while moving her hands through the air wildly. Only now did Link wonder how old she was – she seemed to be an incredibly mature woman, at least that's what she conveyed when they had talked, but the way she conversed with her brother now made her look so much younger.

 

Sometimes Link wondered why he and the Champions were the ones with the weight of the whole world on their shoulders. Half of them were so young, barely adults – the only ones over the age of twenty were Urbosa and Daruk, and that was still fairly young to play the leading roles in a war. It seemed unfair to him that the rest of his life was going to be influenced by this burden while other people could lean back and hope for the best. They didn't have to do anything, they didn't have any role in this damned prophecy.

 

He was too deep in his thoughts to notice that he had been caught staring. It took him a while to come back to the present, and when he did, he realized that Sheik's red eyes were looking right back at him. The Sheikah repeated his gesture from earlier, tilting his head to the side, but this time it didn't feel like a challenge. It felt like a question, one that Link wasn't sure he understood or knew the answer to.

 

He turned around and left.

 

  
\----------------

 

 

_Zelda_

 

The strong wind blew over the grass, moving it from one side to the other, and doing the same to Zelda's hair. She tried to hold it in place with her hands but it was too much and too strong of a wind, making all her attempts futile.

 

Link handed her one of the dark blue Sheikah capes that he carried around with him in case of weather conditions such as this one. He already wore his one over his messy blond hair, successfully shielding it. When Zelda noticed him smirking, she dug her fingers into his side mercilessly, chuckling softly at the surprised rush of air leaving his lips, before draping the cape over her head and letting it fall over her shoulders.

 

They were out in the fields, hiding on a rock from which they could perfectly overlook a herd of wild, untamed horses. Upon deciding that they were going to join the Sheikah riding to Gerudo Desert because Zelda had wanted to visit Urbosa anyway, Link had instructed her to catch herself a horse to make the travel easier and quicker. They usually walked on foot from one place to another – or Zelda occasionally had the royal luxury to be transported by a carriage – because neither of them minded the legwork, but marching to the Gerudo Desert was a task that neither of them really wanted to do.

 

This was already her tenth attempt because she wasn't a very patient person and moved faster than she should if she wanted to successfully sneak up on one of the horses. Link shook his head at her disapprovingly whenever the herd ran away in fright, leaving Zelda to return to their vantage point to wait for the horses to come back.

 

After a few minutes, the herd returned. This time, the white horse leading them stood directly under Zelda's vantage point and the princess decided that this was her only chance: She stood up and jumped impulsively, landing only half on the horse and nearly falling off right away but she managed to right herself before the horse started bucking widely to try to throw her off. Her fingers gripped the pale mane tightly, holding on for dear life until the horse ceased its efforts, relaxing under her weight ever so slightly but remaining obviously suspicious, huffing at her in what Zelda could only interpret as distrust.

 

Link arrived next to her and gently took a hold of her arms to guide her hands away from the horse's mane and to its neck instead. He made stroking motions, advising her to tame the horse in the same way he had demonstrated earlier on his own horse.

 

When the mare seemed to have calmed down enough to stop huffing at her, Link motioned for Zelda to get off the horse. He held out an apple which she accepted with a small thankful smile, holding it out to her horse who ate it so quickly that Zelda didn't even have time to blink once.

 

They returned to the castle later that day, both riding on their horses. Once there, Zelda equipped her mare, who she had decided to call _Storm_ , with the royal bridle and saddle, officially marking it as hers.

 

  
\----------------

 

 

_Link_

 

The princess left to fulfill a few tasks before they would begin their travel to Gerudo Desert tomorrow, so Link decided to walk around outside of Hyrule Castle for a few hours. Though he felt at home there now, he couldn't shake the feeling of living in a cage – he loved being outside, surrounded by endless green grass, tall trees and cloudless, blue skies, warm rain or glowing stars. The grey of the castle was a stark contrast to that.

 

He sat down under a tree not far from the castle but far enough to erase some of his claustrophobic feelings. The darkness of the night made him blind to everything but the castle lights as well as the stars and the moon that illuminated the area ever so slightly.

 

He leaned back against the tree's bark, the sharp edges digging into his back painfully. It was a familiar sensation that he had grown used to years ago – even when he had been but a small child, he would always spent his time outside. He still remembered his father chasing after him often, telling him to come inside to at least eat for a few minutes.

 

A small smile grazed his lips as he closed his eyes for a second, reminiscing about the past.

 

“May I?”

 

Sheik’s voice made him flinch, so unexpected and yet strangely familiar even though they had only met a few days ago. Link looked up to see the Sheikah pointing at the free space next to him on the grass, one of his eyebrows raised in question.

 

Link didn’t even consider declining - he nodded without hesitation, smiling softly as he turned away to scan the empty fields again.

 

“I heard that you’ll join us on our trip to Gerudo Desert tomorrow.” It wasn’t a question but rather a simple statement, followed by a barely noticeable tilt of the Sheikah’s head as he regarded Link. “I for one am looking forward to it. Traveling with such unique company surely can’t be boring.”

 

Link flushed at the open admiration, not used to compliments that seemed as genuine as this one. He ducked his head to hide his blush, hoping that Sheik wouldn’t notice, but the other male only laughed briefly, shaking his head with an amused expression on his face. “No need to be modest, hero.”

 

 _Hero._ Link couldn't stop himself from cringing if he tried, showing his discomfort at the title openly instead. He hadn't had the time to grow used to it yet and he was certain that he never would. It felt pretentious and limiting, like it was reducing him to a simple word that didn't do all the aspects of himself that weren't considered _heroic_ justice.

 

Sheik picked up on it, nodding absently. “Link it is, then.”

 

They sat together in companionable silence for a while, both of them leaning against the tree's bark and looking up at the sky in awe. Sheik told him about the constellations, pointing them out to Link one by one. His knowledge seemed endless and Link felt like he could have listened to him talk forever.

 

After a while though, Sheik surprised him by getting to his feet gracefully. He held out his hand to Link, wiggling his fingers slightly when Link didn't immediately reach for it, and pointed with his free hand behind his back and toward the castle. “It's getting late and we should get some sleep before tomorrow. After all, I can't imagine Rin would allow us to take all the breaks we'd need if we didn't rest enough beforehand.”

 

To his utmost surprise, he wanted to share that Zelda was like that as well, that she was the most impatient person he'd ever known and that Rin sounded exactly like her. A sharp pang in his heart made him realize that this was the first time in months that he regretted having sworn to himself never to talk again. Back then, he hadn't wanted to give himself and his personality away by talking too much – so he had decided not to talk at all, never again, in order to distance who he truly was from the person that everyone wanted to see in him – the untouchable, invincible warrior and hero, fierce and only dedicated to what the Goddesses had designed him to be. It had been hard at first, almost impossible, but he had gotten used to it in the end. Even the random urges to talk had ceased eventually.

 

Never would he have guessed that one Sheikah talking about the constellations and his sister that resembled Zelda so much was going to be enough to burn all the efforts back to the ground, efficiently bringing him back to zero and forcing him to start all over again.

 

And starting tomorrow he would constantly find himself in the Sheikah's company for at least two weeks.

 

 _Oh, Goddesses._ What had he gotten himself into?

 

 

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Side notes: The Sheikah ban will be explained at some point in later chapters.

 

Also, Sheik and Rin's father was Hylian while their mother was Sheikah which is why they both have blond hair and red eyes.

 

English isn't my native language so I apologize for any mistakes!


End file.
